Obama names first female Secret Service chief

Julia Pierson is currently chief of staff and has worked for the agency for 30 years.

Reuters/United States Department of Homeland Security, file photo

United States president Barack Obama has named Julia Pierson as the first female chief of the Secret Service, the elite protection branch sullied by a prostitution scandal in Colombia last year.

Ms Pierson, currently Secret Service chief of staff, has worked for the agency, which protects the president and his family and investigates currency counterfeiting and fraud, for 30 years.

"Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day," Mr Obama said in a statement.

"Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own."